squadron and proceeded to Charleston, S. C., in order to co-operate with Sir Henry Clinton in his attack on that city. Arriving on 28 June, 1776, he made an unsuccessful assault on Fort Moultrie, which resulted in great loss of life and damage to his ships, and to the final abandonment of the enterprise. He was subsequently knighted for his bravery in this affair. He aided Lord Howe in the capture of New York, commanded the squadron that took possession of Rhode Island in the latter part of 1776, and held the chief command on the Jamaica station in 1777-'82. He was made a baronet in 1782, subsequently became commander-in-chief at Portsmouth, England, was member of parliament for Maldon and admiral of the White, and, on the death of Lord Howe, succeeded him as admiral of the fleet. — His grandson, Sir Peter, bart., British naval officer, b. in England in 1785; d. near Moorefields, Georgetown Cross-Roads, Md., 30 Aug., 1814, was educated at Westminster school, entered the navy at an early age under his grandfather, and rose rapidly, serving with Lord Nelson, the Earl of St. Vincent, and other noted officers. He was placed in charge of the frigate “Menelaus” in 1810, commanded her on the Bermuda station in 1814, and in the spring of that year went to Chesapeake bay for the purpose of patrolling those waters and blockading Baltimore harbor. Previous to his American service he had been noted for his magnanimity, but under the direction of his superior officer, Sir George Cockburn, he was unnecessarily cruel and exasperating to the Americans, frequently sending parties ashore to plunder private as well as public property, and wantonly destroying every house that was suspected to be the residence of a military man. He swept domestic commerce from the bay, and boasted that during the month of his blockading service he had not permitted a single American boat to cross the Chesapeake. After the fall of Washington, D. C., he was ordered down the bay, but he said: “I must have a frolic with the Yankees first,” and accordingly, after a dinner with his officers on the night of 30 Aug., he landed a force of seamen and marines from the “Menelaus” and attacked a body of Maryland militia that was camped near Chestertown, Md. After a hand-to-hand fight of about an hour, the British were repelled, and Sir Peter was mortally wounded, dying before he could be carried to the ship. His body was taken to Bermuda, and subsequently to England, receiving a public funeral and military honors in both countries. Lord Byron, who was his first cousin, wrote a poetic eulogy to his memory. See a memoir of him by Sir George Dallas (London, 1815).
PARKER, Peter, clergyman, b. in Framingham,
Mass., 18 June, 1804; d. in Washington, D. C.,
10 Jan., 1888. He was graduated at Yale in 1831,
and at the medical department there in 1834, and,
having also studied theology, was ordained the
same year, and sent to China as a missionary by the
American board. On his arrival he established a
hospital at Canton, which was originally intended
for the treatment of diseases of the eye, but soon
included patients with other maladies, and 2,000
were admitted the first year. Dr. Parker's skill as
a surgeon caused the fame of the hospital to spread
rapidly; he also preached to its inmates, and trained
several natives in medicine and surgery. During
the war with England in 1840 he left China and
visited the United States, closing the hospital in
his absence, but returning in 1842, he opened it
with a largely increased force. He resigned his
connection with the American board in 1845, and
while in charge of the hospital became secretary
and interpreter to the U. S. embassy, acting as
chargé d'affaires in the absence of the U. S. minister.
He again visited this country in 1855 on
account of the failure of his health, but, by the
special request of the U. S. government, returned
to China the same year as commissioner, with full
power to revise the treaty of 1844, acting in this
capacity till 1857, when he finally resigned and
returned home. He became a regent of the
Smithsonian institution in 1868, a corporate member of
the American board in 1871, and was a delegate of
the Evangelical alliance to Russia the same year to
memorialize the emperor in behalf of religious
liberty in the Baltic provinces. He was president
of the Washington branch of the Evangelical alliance
in 1887. He published “Journal of an
Expedition from Singapore to Japan” (London, 1838);
“A Statement Respecting Hospitals in China”
(1841); and “Eulogy on Henry Wilson” (Washington,
D. C., 1880).
PARKER, Richard Elliott, senator, b. in
Westmoreland county, Va., 27 Dec., 1783; d. in
Richmond, Va., 9 Sept., 1840. He studied law, and
practised his profession for many years in his
native county. He was elected to the U. S. senate as
a Democrat in 1836 to succeed Benjamin Watkins
Lee, but resigned the next year to become a judge
on the court of appeals of Virginia.
PARKER, Samuel, P. E. bishop, b. in
Portsmouth, N. H., 17 Aug., 1744; d. in Boston, Mass.,
6 Dec., 1804. His father, William, was an eminent
lawyer, and a judge of the superior court at the
opening of the Revolution. Samuel was graduated
at Harvard in 1764, engaged in teaching while
preparing for orders, and in October, 1773, was offered
the assistant rectorship of Trinity church, Boston.
He accordingly went to England, was made deacon
in the chapel of Fulham palace, London, 24 Feb.,
1774, by Dr. Terrich, lord bishop of London,
and ordained priest three days later by the same
dignitary. He returned home in November, 1774,
and entered at once upon his duties. At the
beginning of the Revolution he sided with his
countrymen, was the only Episcopal clergyman to
remain at his post, and in 1779 became rector of the
parish. After the war he was active in seeking to
revive and aid scattered Episcopal churches, and
was agent of the Society for the propagation of the
gospel. In 1803 he was unanimously elected to
succeed Bishop Bass in the episcopate of
Massachusetts, and he was consecrated in Trinity church,
New York city, 16 Sept., 1804. On returning
home he was prostrated by an attack of the gout,
from which he never recovered, and thus was never
able to discharge any of the duties of his office.
He received the degree of D. D. from the University
of Pennsylvania in 1789. Dr. Parker published
an “Annual Election Sermon before the Legislature
of Massachusetts” (1793); a “Sermon for the
Benefit of the Boston Female Asylum” (1803); and
several other occasional discourses. — His youngest
son, Richard Green, educator, b. in Boston in
1798; d. in 1869, was graduated at Harvard in 1817.
His subsequent life was devoted to education,
chiefly in New England. He was not only a
thorough practical teacher in grammar-schools and
a private school of his own, but was also a
voluminous author of text-books. Among them are
“Natural Philosophy” (1837); “Aids to English
Composition” (Boston, 1832); and “National Series
of Readers,” with James M. Watson (completed in
1858). He was also the author of a “History of the
Grammar-School in East Parish, Roxbury” (Boston,
1826) and “Tribute to the Life and Character
of Jonas Chickering” (1854). — Samuel's grandson,
